Walmart announces disc-to-digital service for DVD and Blu-ray discs

[Shawn Knight]

Walmart has announced a new disc-to-digital service that will allow customers to access digital versions of DVDs and Blu-ray discs they own via a collaboration with streaming service VUDU. The movies will be available to stream anytime via Internet-connected devices such as laptops, tablets and smartphones.

Walmart is partnering with several Hollywood studios on the project including Paramount Home Media Distribution, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Entertainment and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.

Starting April 16, 2012, customers will be able to bring their DVDs and Blu-ray discs to the photo center at one of over 3,500 Walmart stores across the country as proof of ownership. A Walmart associate will then authorize the digital copies in the customer’s VUDU account within a matter of minutes.

Customers will be charged $2 for an equal conversion to the cloud while standard DVDs can be upgraded to high definition formats for $5. Users will need to set up a VUDU account before bringing their flicks in for verification and the company also recommends checking the online catalog for approved movies in advance.

Walmart is the first retailer to announce support for the UltraViolet cloud video platform. The company is hoping customers will see it as an opportunity to give their home video collection a second life. Others, however, will certainly point out that you are essentially paying a second time for a film you already own.

How do you feel about this new service? Is it something you would utilize for a small fee?

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/47787-walmart-announces-disc-to-digital-service-for-dvd-and-blu-ray-discs.html

 

[cliffordcooley]

How do you feel about this new service? Is it something you would utilize for a small fee?

For a small fee, no its not something I would utilize. But to be fair, I don't see any value in the service if it was for free.

 

[Guest]

What, no VHS?

 

[Guest]

It doesn't mention that Wal-Mart will keep your copy of the disc upon activation--it just says they will activate it on Vudu. You can then always sell the disc to a non early adopter and recoup the profits. UltraViolet is the industry-backed digital distribution platform, so there's a good chance this program could work.

However, if you give it a year or so I'm 99% certain that Amazon will introduce something similar or better than this. IMO, though, Vudu is a great platform....

 

[9Nails]

I'll wait for the "Google Music" version where I've uploaded my CD's online for FREE. Netflix or Vudu could potentially make this service free by selling me new movies to add to my collection to cover their costs for storage. But with data deduplication, their storage costs will be minimal. It's certainly not worth $2 per title to "upload" to the cloud when they're just zapping my barcode and that's that. And that doesn't do me any good for my home movies that I've burned to DVD.

One thing I'd like to know, do I get full access to my DVD's with commentary and additional footage, or is this just the feature film? And, can I turn on the #$%#!!! commercial advertisements on those Disney films?

 

[IAMTHESTIG]

Why would I pay to have an access to an electronic copy of something I already own? Your buying the video twice now? How does this make sense?

 

[Guest]

if you all ready own the movie
why would you pay even more companies to watch the movie you already own
I understand if you are buying the electronic version of the movie for cheap and down load it to you equipment then thats a good deal
but what there offering is a streaming service so now you are paying
walmart, VUDU,and your ISP to watch a movie you already own not to mention you need a VUDU compatible device to watch said movie
oh and one more thing if you travel outside the USA you cant watch it.

 

[Vrmithrax]

Make this more like STEAM and I might be interested. I don't want to put my library of movies up on a cloud and be hostage to a streaming-only service that involves internet connections and data usage. However, let me have access to my entire library on whatever platform I choose, with the option to stream or download the titles I want to that device for offline viewing, and you might catch my interest.

 

[Aerney]

Any digital service that doesn't allow someone to take the video with them is pretty much useless. As stated above, this service only allows streaming, so why would I stream something that I have physical access to? And why would I PAY again to have access to something I already have access to? I guess this is the entertainment industries way to push people back to stealing digital copies of videos so that they can put them on their tablets so they can actually watch them where ever they want (Like on the road to keep a child entertained). The one time I tried to use the Ultraviolet service, it wouldnt even work... so good luck to anyone that falls for this!

 

[Guest]

Buy it and don't open it, walk over get them to scan it and then return it un-opened... $2 movies for everyone!

 

[Guest]

the only time that this service would be any good is if the movie you own has been damaged by someone or something (like your dog chewing on the disk making it unusable) and the movie is out of print and you cant buy a second hand copy of it anywhere on the cheap

 

[Mudvayne819]

I dont understand i saw some days ago a compagny was refused to release his new product that do exactly what walmart want to offer and will offer, but that lil compagny couldnt release his final product.

****ing corpocracie

 

[Cycloid Torus]

VHS might be worth doing. DVD, meh. Maybe for a buck - or 25 for $20. Would need strong assurance that this service won't morph into the nether-reaches in just a matter of years. I want ARCHIVE that I can access for the next 50-60 years.

 

[captaincranky]

I'm just going to hang on to my DVDs thank you very much.

So, if anybody wants to give up their DVD copy of "Avatar" so they can watch it on their "smart" phone, carpe diem,... (or should that be "caveat emptor"? Non compos mentus, perhaps)?

Hm, I wonder how far the MPAA's ears perked up when they heard this announcement?

Buy it and don't open it, walk over get them to scan it and then return it un-opened... $2 movies for everyone!

And on the seventh day, whereupon God had rested, man inventeth "Redbox". And man saweth this, and proclaimeth it good!

(Well, all but for a random sampling of imbeciles who wanteth to give away their DVDs to Walmart).

 

[TJGeezer]

Guest said:
It doesn't mention that Wal-Mart will keep your copy of the disc upon activation

Are you saying they do? If so, I'd have zero interest. Or negative interest - paying Wal-Mart $2 to swipe a bar code and then take my DVD? Yeah, right.

But I doubt they'd even want to do that. It'd cost Sam Walton's billionaire children actual money to have Wal-Mart deal with storage and disposal, don't forget. Unless it was imposed by the don't-get-digital entertainment moguls and their armies of lawyers.

The Vudu streaming service sounds interesting, though. Netflix provides a good alternative to the plastic DVD movie, Google does the same with music, Apple has its own game-changing approach... The whole content market is changing fast. Wal-Mart's attempt is still only early days for personal streaming.

As somebody said, wait a year and Amazon (or Google, or Apple, or Netflix, or your neighbor Bob's bright 17-year-old) will get it right.

 

[captaincranky]

OK, for them to upload your specific DVD to the cloud, they have to circumvent the copy protection, which as I understand it, is illegal.

So, either they're selling you a cloud copy of a DVD you already own illegally, Or, they must pay royalties on the DVD copy back to the MPAA. (This of course, if they allow you to keep the original disc).

As I understand it, "backing up" a DVD is a conundrum, since you're not allowed to keep the copy if you lose the original.

REDBOX......."It doesn't spell "murder" backwards.

 

[Guest]

WHEN, exactly, have you EVER seen a Walmart employee smile like the one depicted in this article? I want to know exact time, date and location, and a picture for proof.